Legends Never Die
by 39addict101
Summary: Three years ago, Henry and Ray had an argument. And now, Henry is struggling to cope with the results of that argument, and wondering who he really is . . . is he Kid Danger at heart? Or is he just another superhero trying to impress the crowds?
1. Chapter 1

_The smoke is thick, choking him. He struggles to take a breath, struggles to inhale enough oxygen. Beside him, Captain Man is having the same trouble._

 _"We've got to get out of here." Henry says, coughing._

 _Captain Man doesn't bother to answer, just continues pressing on._

Please. _Henry thinks._ Please let the exit be close! _The heat from the inferno they are stuck in sends sweat dripping, pooling in the small of his back. His mask begins to come unstuck from his face._

 _He can see that Captain Man is also soaked in sweat._

 _They never should have come. They never should have agreed to this stupid mission._

 _And suddenly he trips and is falling, plunging towards the licking orange flames below._

Henry jerked awake, his breath coming in quick pants. Covered in sweat, he struggled to calm his wildly beating heart. "Only a dream." He whispered, staring up at the ceiling. "Only a dream."

But the past was still there to haunt him, to make him wish that he could go back in time. To the glory days. To when he was a celebrity.

Now he is no one. Just plain old Henry Hart. Just "that kid who lives in that tiny town Swellview". Just. Just. Just.

No one every used the word "just" when they were talking about Kid Danger. Instead, they used flattering words like "amazing", "astounding", "breathtaking", "cute","handsome", "hot" and so many more.

Never "just".

He had been a legend.

Now he was nobody. Ever since his fallout with Captain Man three years ago, he'd dropped down the social ladder, as if everyone else noticed a difference.

Why was it that as soon as he wasn't Kid Danger anymore he wasn't popular? They hadn't known that he was Kid Danger. So why had they suddenly given him the cold shoulder?

Charlotte had said it was because he'd gone from Happy Henry to Gloomy Henry in just two days.

And as for Jasper . . . well, Jasper wasn't around anymore. He was too busy prancing around Ray's side, dressed in _Henry's_ Kid Danger clothes.

Of course, no one but Henry and Charlotte knew the truth, but it still hurt Henry deeply.

For Ray to use such a low blow as picking Henry's best friend for the new Kid Danger . . .

Henry shook away that thought and tried to settle back down. He was so hot. The sheets were burning, and he couldn't find a single cool spot on his pillow, no matter how hard he tried. The temperature around him seemed to agree with his anger. And every time he fell asleep after thinking about Ray and Jasper, his dreams were riddled with laughing faces, Jasper's, Ray's, Schwoz's, and, occasionally, even Charlotte's.

And they were always laughing at him. Laughing at his inability to be Kid Danger. Laughing at him when Ray kicked him out. Laughing at him when he made the stupid mistake.

Always laughing.

Henry rolled off his bed and stumbled towards the wall, groping in the dark for the light switch. Finding it, he switched it on and blinked in surprise as the bright light invaded his pupils.

He needed a glass of milk, and maybe some cookies. He smiled. His mother had just baked a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies, and that sounded like something he needed right now.

Creeping softly down the stairs, he headed towards kitchen. Once again he found himself searching blindly in the dark for the light switch. When he found it, he flipped it and gasped in surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

Ray was sitting on Henry's kitchen table, looking right at home with a glass of milk and some cookies spread out across the mahogany table, complete with napkins folded in the shape of pigs.

Ray smiled. "Making you a midnight snack, what else?"

* * *

 **Yo my peeps!**

 **I've decided to post another Henry Danger fic, and I'm really excited about this one.**

 **Unlike some of my other fics, I've actually decided to think ahead, and write more than one chapter before just posting chapter one. (I've written up to chapter three or four sooo)**

 **Of course this is a short chapter, but I kind of just wanted to introduce you to the background . . . to what's going on.**

 **Also... I'm essentially fandom blind. Like... I've watched maybe four, five single episodes at the most.**

 **I'm also one of those girls who thinks Henry is absolutely adorable... although I wouldn't go so far as to post it online :P**

 **(but like... seriously,,, have you seen some things people post... like where Jace Norman might actually see it?)**

 **(like... people... you posting stuff like "i love you jace" isn't going to make him love you back, in fact, it's probably just gonna make him irritated)**

 **(I know I would be irritated)**

 **But anyways... thanks for reading this... and another chapter should be posted soon, although I can't guarantee every week like Crystal,,, who is like legit my hero when it comes to writing (have you guys seen the way she writes?) *falls down and worships***

 **Anyway... this space is supposed to be about my story,,, and here I am blasting you guys with my opinion on Jace's fangirls.**

 **I really like to talk.**

 **I'll shut up now.**

 **Adios!**

 **-Addict**


	2. Chapter 2

Henry frowned. "How thoughtful of you." He snapped, yanking a cookie off the table and cramming it into his mouth. "Nishofthropin." He said, spewing cookie crumbs everywhere, including on Ray's jeans.

Ray yelped and hurriedly brushed the infectious particles away. "What did you say?" He asked.

Henry swallwed. "Nice of you to drop in." He eyed Ray suspiciously. "What do you want?" Ray was never the type to just "drop in and say hi".

"Now, now." Ray said assuredly, standing up and patting Henry gently on the back. "What makes you think I want something?"

Henry narrowed his eyes. "I don't know. Maybe the fact that you showed up at my house, at, I don't know," he checked his (sob) now-normal watch, "three a.m.? And the fact that you set out cookies and milk and folded napkins in the shape of pigs."

Ray smiled. "You're one smart boy, Henry. Don't ever forget it."

Henry crossed his arms. "And now he flatters me."

Grinning, Ray stepped closer to Henry and leaned close to the boy's face. "What do you think about helping out your old boss?"

Henry stepped back. "No." Yet as he spoke the words, a small gleam of curiousity and longing shot through him, and before he could stop himself, he asked, "With what?"

Ray nodded, grinning like an idiot. "Kid Danger has gone missing."

Henry snorted. "He's right here. You're talking to him, Ray."

Ray frowned. "The _new_ Kid Danger, Henry."

Henry laughed cruelly, feeling the laughter jar his body with a sadness that hurt his heart. "Oh, you mean the one you replaced me with." He laughed again. "Good thing there's a never-ending supply of wannabe Kid Danger's around."

"It's not like that, Henry." Ray said. "Not like that at all."

"Really?" Henry asked. "Then why did you go replace me!?" He banged his fist on the table. "Why, Ray? Why?"

Henry felt tears gather in his eyes and he hurriedly wiped them away, hoping Ray hadn't seen.

Ray stiffened. "Henry . . . "

"Don't _Henry_ me!" He snapped, backing further away. "Go find Kid Danger yourself, jerk." The use of "jerk" did nothing to Ray, Henry knew, but it made him feel better, at least.

Ray reached out and grabbed Henry's shirt. "Henry. Jasper's not missing. I know where he is. But he's acting weird, like he's lost his mind within himself and can't find it."

Henry too stiffened and found himself turning around. Even though Jasper had betrayed him, even though what Jasper had done hurt him terribly, he still cared about his ex-friend. "Look." He said. "I . . . I can't deal with this right now. I'll see you tomorrow at Junk 'n' Stuff, if I feel like it. If not, you're on your own. That's my final deal."

Ray nodded, his brown eyes meeting Henry's before tearing away.

The last thing Henry saw of Ray was his slumped, dejected shoulders as he slipped out the front door, into the dark, still night. The door shut softly behind him, leaving Henry alone with his thoughts.

 _But he_ replaced _me!_

 _Just go. Jasper's your friend._

WAS _my friend..._

Henry smacked his forehead with his palm, groaning. Why was he so willing to run out and help anyone who asked? Perhaps that was why he had been chosen for Kid Danger in the first place.

If there was still any qualities of the old Henry, The Kid Danger Henry, then he was going to go and use them for someone's good, even if it was for thieving Jasper.

 _I'm coming, Captain Man._

* * *

 **Well... it's been a while. But here I am. With an even shorter chapter than the first...**

 **I tried to pack a lot of emotional _power_ into it, but I'm not sure if I managed that at all. **

**Honestly... sometimes I don't even know why I write...**

 **like... does anyone else have this problem?**

 **They love writing... until they stumble upon a problem (which is every five seconds for me, lmao)**

 **and then you're like... aw... i'll come back tomorrow**

 **and tomorrow comes, and you've lost your inspiration, and you don't get it back for three months**

 **and then you get your inspiration back, and you write 8,000 words in one day**

 **and then you don't write the next day even though you have your inspiration because "hell that was embarrassing that I wrote that much"**

 **So yes... welcome, dear readers, to the writer's problems.**

 **And thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	3. Chapter 3

The sun shone brightly down on the cozy city of Swellview, and everyone was out enjoying it, soaking up the sun's friendly rays, all, that is, except Henry.

He sulked his way towards Junk 'n' Stuff, glaring at anyone who dared to come within five feet of his shadow.

His shadow. It was what he was, he thought. Just a mirage of the person he had been. Of course, he was still the same Henry, but . . . only in the same way that his shadow was . . . well, his shadow.

He watched as the grayish colored lump passed over endless sidewalk, dog's paw, sneakers, cracks, discarded popcorn that the birds hadn't found yet . . . and a pair of Converse that looked very familiar.

"Henry!" The voice was familiar too.

Prying his eyes off the ground, he looked up into a pair of dark brown eyes framed with long lashes. "What are you doing in this part of town? I thought you vowed you were never going to come within two miles of Junk 'n' Stuff."

Henry bit his lip, and spouted out the first lie that came to his mind. "Mom wants an ugly vase for a joke present or something."

Charlotte arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

Henry nodded. "Really."

Placing one hand on her slender hip, Charlotte cocked her head and stared at Henry, as if trying to figure out whether he was lying or not.

"Come on." Henry said. "Wanna help me pick out an ugly one?" He smiled. "We can tell Ray it looks like his face."

Charlotte relaxed and smiled. "Ok." She shot Henry a look. "This is the most like you you've been in a long time."

Henry rolled his eyes. "I've always been me. Just not Kid Danger me."

Charlotte didn't answer, and the pair continued on towards Junk 'n' Stuff, their comfortable silence relaxing and familiar to Henry.

His black Vans seemed find the old intimate grooves in the sidewalk. "This feels so right." He said, surprised by his honesty with a girl. "I feel like I should come here every day, just like I used too."

Charlotte looked at him. "Maybe you should." She said softly. "It would do you good."

Henry shook his head. "No, it wouldn't." He knew he was right, and that Charlotte was just trying to help him in the small ways she knew how. Coming back to Junk 'n' Stuff to watch Jasper and Ray interact as Captain Man and Kid Danger, just he and Ray used to, would only reopen old wounds.

But his feet continued on towards Ray's store, even while his mind screamed that it wasn't right, that he shouldn't be coming here, that he should run home and cry.

And suddenly they were there, standing in front of the old store, the place where Henry had spent countless hours, laughing, fighting, screaming, sweating, crying, working with Ray, and the list went on.

It was here that he and Char had really bonded. It was here that he had grown up. It was here that he had received the first truly bitter disappointment of his life.

 _"We're not going to work Henry." Ray's voice was cold. "To put it bluntly, you're fired. Really fired. And don't try to come back like you've done before. I found a new Kid Danger."_

 _The smoothie he was drinking slipped from his hand and fell to the floor as Jasper, Jasper, oh god Jasper, wearing the full Kid Danger uniform stepped out from behind the booth. Henry's booth. Henry's booth that was now Jasper's._

 _Jasper didn't meet Henry's eye. "I'm sorry." He said._

 _The smoothie was pink on the white tile floor and it slowly spread towards Henry's shoes, a smear of blood on a white shirt. It felt like it was Henry's blood, his blood pouring out of chest, pouring out of him at the disappointment and hurt and oh god why out of all people Jasper?_

 _Suddenly the exit seemed to far away. Henry whirled and, feeling like a little girl, ran crying out of the Man Cave. It was the first time he'd left in tears. It was also his last_.

He realized abruptly that he was standing in front of the door, staring at the handle like it was repulsive.

"Go ahead." Char said, inclining her head forward, motioning towards the door. "I can't do it for you."

He could feel her eyes on him as he reached out, shaking, to grasp the handle. As he began to pull the door towards him, Charlotte grabbed his arm and yanked him away. "Forget it." She said. "We need to talk."

"Ok." Henry said. "Talk." He crossed his arms and faced her.

Charlotte blew out a breath of air and began talking so fast it was like punctuation didn't exist. "For god's sake Henry you can't even open the door what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me." He said. "You'd feel the same way if Ray kicked you out for a stupid mistake that didn't even matter."

"What did you do?" Char said, her girl instinct for gossip kicking in. She shook her head. "Never mind."

She looked at him closer. "Your mom didn't send you her for a vase, did she?"

Henry shook his head. "Ray asked me for help and I don't know why I'm coming."

Charlotte's eyes searched his. "Henry, you're still Kid Danger. You still want to help people. You're going out of your way to help someone who was terrible to you. Why?"

Henry hung his head. "I honestly don't even know." He sighed. "Remember how just a few minutes ago I said it felt so right?" He shuddered, willing himself not to cry in front of Charlotte. "It doesn't anymore. I think while we were walking I was telling myself that when I would get there Ray would welcome me back with open arms and I'd be Kid Danger again."

Charlotte nodded. "Keep going."

"But I know that's not going to happen. I know it's just going to re-open old wounds."

Charlotte nodded. "Remember what I said, how it would do you good? I lied." She said. "I thought it was great that you were coming, that's all. I thought maybe you were trying to be a man or something and visit Junk 'n' Stuff without crying. I knew you weren't coming for a vase."

Henry smiled sadly. "You know me too well, don't you?"

Charlotte laughed. "Yes. Now let's go and convince Ray that you need to be Kid Danger."

Henry stared. "But I thought you were with Jasper . . ."

"I was." She twisted her lips. "Henry, he's only there for the fame. He doesn't care about helping others. He just wants to wear the mask." She blew out a breath of air. "That felt so good to say. Anyway, it's not Jasper's cup of tea. He's better suited to sit behind a desk and start his own business, and glory in himself." She sighed. "Does that make sense?"

Henry nodded.

"But you, Henry, you don't care about yourself. You only care about what you can do for other people." Charlotte brushed a dark lock of her hair out of her eyes. "Swellview needs you back, Henry, and we're going to convince Ray that he needs you back too."

Henry met Charlotte's eyes. "You mean it?"

Charlotte nodded. "Every word."

Henry nodded, and, tearing his gaze away from Charlotte, he reached out and opened the door to Junk 'n' Stuff for the first time in a long time.

* * *

 **Anddddd over a year later and I'm back lol**

 **Thanks for reading and drop me a review!**

 **-Addict**


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